


Six Seeds Sowed

by AstralArcher12



Series: The Rook and The Shepherd [2]
Category: Far Cry 5, Far Cry: New Dawn
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Gen, Gun Violence, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Non-Consensual Kissing, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Character Death, Possible Character Death, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 09:08:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25847095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AstralArcher12/pseuds/AstralArcher12
Summary: The story of Ariel and the six Seeds that she has interacted with.
Relationships: Deputy | Judge & Captain o Security (Far Cry), Deputy | Judge & Ethan Seed, Deputy | Judge & Faith Seed, Deputy | Judge & Jacob Seed, Deputy | Judge & John Seed, Deputy | Judge & Joseph Seed
Series: The Rook and The Shepherd [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1835092
Kudos: 1





	1. Joseph

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone, welcome back to another story! Six Seed is a two part story shared between Ariel and her daughter, Angel. This one will show the interactions between Deputy Ariel Castle and six members of the Seed Family during the course of Far Cry 5 and Far Cry New Dawn. 
> 
> As seen in the tags, there will be references to child abuse, though all of which happened in the past. If this in any way makes you uncomfortable, I advise you stop reading now.
> 
> Also, this first chapter won't be very long since its just the beginning of the story, so bare with me as the story progresses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Let's start off with this. I'm sorry to anyone who saw this update and thought this was a new chapter. I was sure how else to do this.
> 
> As of today, December 29, I'm abandoning this version of Six Seeds Sowed. I'm not happy with how my current story is, especially with my odd portrayal of Ariel. I'm going to write a new version. I don't know when I will post the new version. In the meantime, I will be leaving this version up for anyone's entertainment. 
> 
> For clarification, this story is not completed and will never be complete. I'm sorry to anyone who this news disappoints. I hope to see you all again when I finally post my new version. Until then, stay safe and take care.

Joseph Seed was a dangerous and terrifying man, Ariel is not ashamed to admit. A man who can gouge out the eyes of a person without hesitation or a blink of an eye shouldn’t be called anything less. He truly believed in what he said, she could tell in the way he up at the front of the church. The air around him and his siblings was heavy with authority.

He also needed a damn shirt.

Ariel’s hate for him solidified the moment she stepped into the church with the others. Even far away, she could see the hate in his eyes. Oh, the power this man held over these people, his precious followers. There was no doubt in her mind that if he gave the word, these people would tear them to pieces without hesitation and then ask their “Father” if they have pleased him. What a mockery of all things good and holy this whole church was. The same kind of mockery the church her old parents were apart of was. Though, perhaps not as much, these people had no problems with people of different skin colors at least, which is more than what she could say about the other church. 

She hated Joseph, even more, when he fueled his congregation’s fears and aggression, almost pushing them into a fight if the Whitehouse hadn’t been there to pacify them all. When Joseph told them to leave and prepare, Ariel even then had a sick feeling in her gut with the knowledge that they weren’t going to leave this place without the spilling of blood.

“I saw when the Lamb opened the First Seal, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts say, come and see,” Joseph began to preach. Ariel stood rooted in her place as she listened, her eyes trailing over his siblings behind him, taking in their differing appearances. Joseph himself, with his tattoos, was a picture. Ariel felt the sick feeling grow with every moment. 

“Step. Forward,” Marshall harshly commanded. How he was so unfazed by all this confused Ariel.

“And I saw, and behold it was a white horse,” Joseph bite out, his eyes trailing over to Sheriff Whitehorse, and then to her. “And Hell followed with him.” How charming, to call a lady Hell. His blue, blue eyes held Ariel in her place, his eyes, just like his. Just like her daddy’s true, hateful blue eyes. Oh god no.

And then, Marshall had her handcuff him. She was hesitant, so fearful of this man before her. She almost turned and ran if it weren’t for how he spoke to her.

“God won’t let you take me,” he calmly said. Something about the statement pushed a button inside her mind, and then she was cuffing him, trying to ignoring the disapproval on his siblings’ faces.

As they walked out of the church, to the onlooking frighted faces of the so-called “piggies”, Ariel felt her voice come to her and she and Joseph followed behind the others to the helicopter.

“When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, ‘Come!’” She whispered under her breath. Joseph turned his head only slightly in an indication of hearing her. She listened and watched around them as their audiences cried. “I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine, and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth. Revelations 6.” She finished as if whispering to herself. 

“A child of God?” Joseph said in a whisper like hers.

“Once, a long time ago,” she answered with looking to him.

“What lead you astray, my child?” He looked back forward as they got closer to their ride out of the compound. As she guided him on to the chopper, she answered.

“The people used God to hide their sins and my suffering.” With that, she let him go and watched as all Hell began to break loose.

Waking up upside down in her seat wouldn’t be too bad if there was the threat of burning up in a fire or being killed by Joseph’s people. Oddly enough, it was Joseph’s very voice, singing so sweetly “Amazing Grace” that brought her back to reality and calmed her nerves. Even when he was staring down at her and revealed Nancy’s traitorous nature, she felt calm. Perhaps it was his eyes that no longer held his anger. But never the less, his voice spurred her on to escape. She ran as fast as she could away from the cultists and into the forest surrounding them. 

She soon met up with Burke and tried to escape with him, only to be sent into the river and watch helplessly as he was dragged away by the cult. Perhaps it was good that the fucker had left her to drown in the river, she probably would have been captured alongside him otherwise. She was also found instead by Dutch. Dutch, he reminded her so much of her favorite neighbor of her parents, George Munroe. Both men were so alike in their aggressive mindsets and preparedness to fight like hell, though, Dutch lacked Munroe’s hair and colorful Scottish accent. The men would have gotten along like a house of fire. Shame she couldn’t call anyone now. But she had no time to worry about those things, she had a fight to win.

If Joseph wanted Hell, then it was Hell that Ariel was going to fucking bring.


	2. John

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for another chapter for our lovely tale. This time, Ariel has the pleasure of meeting John.

John hardly drew Ariel’s attention, his presence nowhere as frightening as his brothers or fellow followers were. He looked out of place with how lavished and pampered he looked with his designer coat and well-tamed beard. 

His territory was the first she went, Dutch recommended she started there. She was quick to gain his ire, blowing up silos and taking the outposts back from his people. His radio broadcasts didn’t really faze her, his words being just that, words. She felt safe with the people surrounding her. When she took back Fall’s End, she thought she would be protected from John’s group. It was just her luck that she was caught unprepared, away from any help against the capturing party he sent for her.

Ariel thinks that if Joseph hadn’t shown up when he did, John would have drowned her and told Joseph that she wasn’t strong enough. Instead, John guided her forward and to Joseph. She could see how quickly John changed from his cocky self to a little boy who yearned for his brother’s approval. She felt a sudden need to protect him, to shield him away from Joseph’s disapproving eyes. She almost did when Joseph warned him of what would happen if she didn’t join them, ready to defend him from having to do such a task. In a slipt second, the feeling was gone and she was given John’s unsettling attention once more.

Then, Pastor Jerome was recusing her and she was back to causing John trouble once more. 

When Ariel woke up tied to a chair with Hudson tied in a chair across from her and John whistling away to her right, Ariel was reminded of a memory from long ago.

She had been in high school, she couldn’t really remember when, when a boy in one of her classes, she thinks it was maybe English or was it PE, had decided to kiss her. The boy was probably named Ryan or Richard or Bradley, one of those bullshit rich kid names. He probably did it because his friends dared him to, they never spoke before, Ariel never really spoke in general, nor were they in any kind of friendly area of mutual silence. The kiss was horrid, his lips were wet from his spit and she thinks he even tried to slip her tongue, she bit her lips together as hard as she could to prevent him from doing so. She remembers the disgusted feeling she felt, she would have recoiled away from him if his hands hadn’t held her in place by her shoulders, she remembered his fingers squeezed at her skin when she tried to move away. The worst part was the fact that when he kissed her, his girlfriend, who probably had an equally bullshit rich kid name like Stacey or Tiffany, had walked into the room.

Stacey started screeching when she saw them, rushing up to them and screaming in anger. It got even worse when she saw the look on Ariel’s face, the look of discomfort and disgust. She knew immediately what Ryan had done. She turned on him and started to wail on him, scratching at his arms as he covered his face with them, screaming how much of a bastard he was for forcing the kiss on her. Ariel felt shame and anger running through her body, tears stung her eyes as she listened to Stacey’s words.

The teacher had then come in and tore the two apart, yelling for the three of them to go to the principal’s office. Ariel sat with Stacey on the chairs in front of the office while Ryan got to talk to the principal first, probably twisting it to make himself look the victim in all of this. Stacey sat silently, fuming in her anger. The moment they stepped inside the office after Ryan left and the girls sat down, Stacey went off.

“Whatever he said is a lie! He forced Ariel to kiss him, that fucker! She didn’t want anything to do with him, you could see it on her face. That cheating bastard doesn’t deserve shit!” She hissed. There had been more words, words that Ariel, with her mind still foggy, could not recall at the moment. But afterward, they reached the moment that was so like her current situation now. The girls sat waiting for whatever the principal had to say, nervous anticipation kept them silent and still until he finally spoke. He asked Ariel if she had anything to add, she shook her head, her feelings had settled during Stacey’s rant. He thanked the girls for coming and thanked Stacey for her drive to defend her fellow classmate. He calmly told them that he would take care of everything, that Ryan was obviously in need of a serious lecture on respecting women and consent. He then told them they were free to go and that they had the rest of the period to go wherever they wished. He gave Ariel a meaningful look and asked if she wanted to go home. She shook her head again. He told them goodbye and waved them away.

In the hall, Stacey asked her if she was ok. Ariel nodded her head. Just as the girl began to walk away, Ariel finally found her voice.

“Thank you,” she whispered. The other girl paused in her steps and looked back at her in surprise, so caught off guard by the sound of her voice, probably the first time she ever heard it used. She then nodded and left. Stacey made sure to spread what Ryan did to Ariel around the school like wildfire, making sure everyone knew what kind of man Ryan truly was. She broke up with him of course, Ariel thinks she ended up with a guy on the track team who’s brother was in Ariel’s Chemistry class. For a week afterward, she had girls checking up on her to make sure she was ok and scaring away any guys they thought were going to give her trouble. Ariel both hated it and also felt like she could cry from the shocking amount of support she had for the first time since Rodney and Bevelery had taken her in as their own.

Ariel couldn’t help but wonder how Stacey was now as John began a speech directed at her. She wondered in Stacey stayed with the track team guy or fell in love with someone else. Did she go to college or just started working after high school? Does she have kids? Maybe after everything was over, Ariel would look her up after she gets home and rests up. Though, she hopes for one thing, that Stacey was nowhere near Hope County when everything went to shit.

They would have slaughtered her like a lamb.

Ariel was brought out of her train of thoughts by John pulling her shirt down to reveal more of her chest. Ariel gave him a questioning look wondering what kind of man is he going to turn out to be. When he took up the sponge, she decided he was not that man she feared he would be.

“Giving takes courage, courage to own your sin. To etch it onto your flesh, and carry its burden. And when you have endured, when you truly have begun to atone, to cut it out like a cancer, display it for all to see, my god that’s courage,” he said with the conviction of a truly religious man. My God, he is crazy. When he picked up the ice pick, Ariel felt a rush of ice through her veins, fearful for Hudson’s safety. As his voice rose, Ariel began to understand that Joseph wasn’t the only mad one in this family, the madness was spread from him to each of his siblings, making them just as dangerous as he was. Ariel felt her throat constrict in response to his behavior, something that she could never break free from her childhood. It was only the fear and the need to protect Hudson that encourage her voice to tear through her throat and spit out one single word before it was too late.

“YES,” she hissed with force, his throat burned from lack of use. It did nothing to help though, fear clutching her heart as Hudson began to scream as John moved over to Ariel with the ice pick pointed at her. Fortunately, John thought of their impending session as a private event, leaving her to tuck Hudson somewhere else to give their privacy, giving Ariel a window of opportunity to escape her bonds. 

The fall down the stairs hurt, she thinks her wrist might be sprained or fractured from the force of the impact with the steps as she put it up to protect her head from them. The rest was an adrenaline blur as she snuck around the bunker, knocking out or killing any piggies she came across with a stolen pistol and pipe, trying to find Hudson and escape. The adrenaline slowed momentarily when she saw John and Hudson locked away behind a door, unable to save her coworker from the man. 

“I know your sin. It drives you. Every thought, every action,” he told her through the intercom. “You’re sin is wrath.” Ariel couldn’t help but agree as her grip on the pipe tightened in fury as he laughed. “So I’ll indulge you. Become Wrath.” Happily. “Let it Fill your body, consume your soul because, in the end, you’ll still be empty.” She’s going to kill him. “And I’ll be waiting right here. We both will.” Then he once again disappeared with Hudson, leaving her alone, now filled with her Wrath and ready to not stop fighting until he and all his family were stopped. 

Ariel fought the rest of her way through the bunker, running for it at the end when she reached the stairs leading to the exit. She just barely made it, dodging bullets from following angels and peggies. She didn’t stop running as she saw the light of the outside, not until she was far outside of the bunker’s territory. She continued to follow the road down from the mountains until she reached the main roads, then she walked until she saw the sign of US Auto. She collapsed into the arms of the worried resistance members there, finally allowing herself to let out and exhaustion to put her into unconsciousness.

Taking The Seed Ranch was surprisingly easier than Ariel expected it to be, seeing as it was John’s home after all. Perhaps it was just that she was getting better at sneaking around and taking out cultists and alarms without alerts the other cultists around. 

Seed Ranch was an interesting place, with all of the items it contained. The plane was certainly a surprise, though Ariel lacked the skill to pilot it correctly, it was more Nick’s suit than hers. The phone message from Joseph to John was the most interesting. The fears Joseph had for his brother were quite sound, Ariel knew first hand how tightly the darkness inside John held the reigns to John’s actions. The vision of John’s death bothered her though, she couldn’t help but wonder which sin it will be that will be his end. She couldn’t help but wonder, did Joseph get his message to John in time, or was John long gone before the message arrived?

The sting of the needle burned hot against the skin of Ariel’s chest. With each letter written, Ariel’s teeth clenched tighter, so tighten that it could have bitten through her tongue if she had between her teeth. 

Seeing the state Jerome, Nick, and Mary May were in made it hard for Ariel not kill every cultist in that church and then choke the life out of John afterward. The only reason she didn’t was the guns pressed against the heads of the three of them. She felt a rush of glee when she saw Jerome switch the bibles so that he had his personal one in his hands, the rush grew stronger when she got a hold of the gun hidden inside of it. Shame she was forced to miss and only hit the corner of John’s ear. 

Taking care of the cultists was easy, John proved to be a problem. Chasing after him was a hassle, even more, when he took to the air with his own personal plane that had been left at the ranch. How he managed to get past the resistance members that had been stationed there, she’ll never know, though perhaps he had help taking them out. Cultists were like cockroaches and seemed to appear out of nowhere in packs, easily overtaking areas if you’re not careful enough.

Taking out John’s plane proved extra difficult, her plane easily going down within seconds of the fight. Good thing she had Nick to help, he took care of the plane in no time. In fact, her attention was drawn away to deal with a group of cultists, that by the time she was done with them, John had parachuted out of his failing plane. She now only needed to follow after him.

Chasing after him on foot was stupid, but his location in the woods was not so easily navigated by vehicles, even bikes required care control in order to get to where he was. By the time she got to him, he was waiting at his bunker. At least the trip from him to Hudson wouldn’t take long. With an easy squeeze of the trigger, John was on the ground.

She should have expected him to grab hold of her when she went to take his key. The defeated man had surprisingly a lot of strength for one so bloody and struggling to breathe. 

“What if Joseph is right? Did you ever stop to think about that? Everyone thinks he’s crazy, but he’s not,” John whispered. Ariel could hear the desperation rising in his voice with every word. “Look around you. This world is on the brink. You can feel it in your bones. Look at the headline. Look at who is in charge!” He began to cough then. Ariel almost felt sorry for him, how much he wanted her to believe in his words. Though, he wasn’t wrong, was he? “You want this key because you think you’re saving people but they are already safe. We had a plan.” Ariel stared down at him and leaned close to him. 

“Just because Joseph may be right, doesn’t mean that what you’re doing is,” she whispered back. He shook his head. 

“You don’t understand. You don’t believe. You don’t care!” He forced her hand to yank the chain that the key was on off of his neck. “May God have mercy on your soul.” Ariel sneered at that and swiftly brought down her fist into his head, silencing the man and sending his body down to the ground. Ariel stood up from his body and turned, heading toward the door to his bunker with the sole intent of freeing her fellow officer once and for all, and if anyone stood in her way, Well.

May God have mercy on their souls, cause she sure as hell won’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed. I do not know when the next part will come out as I'm replaying the game in order to properly experience the events as Ariel. Hopefully I will have it done by next week, if not I will try to have it done as soon as possible. Until next time, take care.


	3. Jacob

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ariel travels to the Whitetail Mountains and deals with the next of Joseph's heralds, Jacob.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Sorry on taking so long to post this chapter. School has started up for me, so I had trouble finding the time to write. Fortunately, the good news is that now that I've finished replayed the game, its going to take less time writing up the rest of the chapters. Hopefully I'll have the next one up next week. Fingers crossed!
> 
> Warning: Due to it being Jacob's chapter, there's gonna be some violence, murder, death, and other unsettling stuff involved. If this makes you uncomfortable, I advise you stop reading right now.

Jacob was the spitting image of her father. With his imposing figure, judging and unwelcoming face, and hair as fiery red as hers, the second Ariel saw him, she thought that he was her father and that any minute her mother would appear beside him, ready to punish her for everything she’s done wrong. Her initial instinct was to run away, but with Whitehorse and Burke on both sides of her, she knew she couldn’t. Once the rational side of her brain took the reins once more, Ariel knew Jacob was not her father, but she was in no less danger. She kept her distance from him as best she could when he passed, focusing on keeping her eyes trained on Joseph instead of him. Afterward, Jacob was in the far back reaches of her mind for a long while.

If Ariel had to describe the Whitetail Mountains in one word, it would be wet. All around the region were lakes, ponds, and rivers, and no matter where you went, the foggy air covered your skin with uncomfortable condensation. The chill of the water droplets on her quickly chilling skin left her on edge from the moment she stepped foot into the region and a long while after she finally left it.

Her first stop, after getting past the ranger station and its welcoming committee, was Elk Jaw Lodge. She was thankful she had sent Boomer away for a well-earned rest after he helped her take care of the Peggies stationed there. Seeing all those poor wolves left Ariel with a twist in her gut, unable to not imagine Boomer laying there on the tables instead of one of them. Even worse was the knowledge of what they would have become if they hadn’t failed the experiments. With each Judge she took down, she told herself, was another poor soul set free from the broken shell of an animal they had become.

She hadn’t been scared when Jacob decided for her to be hunted. It was nothing new after dealing with John. She should have known better than to think of it as nothing too troublesome. Once again, she was caught unaware. Though, in her defense, she has no idea where the arrow or the hunter came from when she was shot. There had been no one around her when it appeared. One minute she was getting out of her truck with Grace following behind her, the next, she was on the ground with an arrow in her leg and her ears ringing loud enough that she couldn’t hear if Grace had screamed her name or not in worry. Then, darkness.

Her time with Jacob was just a bunch of blurry memories with people screaming constantly in the background and the feeling of pain and hunger all throughout. 

Sitting in the room for what she thinks was the first time, she didn’t think much of it. She was thankful to see Pratt alive, but the state he was in crushed her relief with worry and concern. He was always skittish before, less affirmative than Joey ever was, but he was even more so now, in Jacob’s “care”.

The pictures projected on the wall were a bit unsettling, but nothing she couldn’t handle, it was just like watching Animal Planet. Listening to Jacob’s speech wasn’t bad as well. If not for the restraints and situation they were in, it would have been like she was just listening to one of those boring lectures that high schools or colleges would have occasionally, though she doesn’t think any school in their right mind would ever allow Jacob’s speech on “Survival of the Fittest” and “Culling the Herd” anywhere near their students. She also didn’t know what to think of his use of The Platters’ song.

The Trial was off-putting but easy. She doesn’t think the people in it were anymore more real than the otherworldly rooms they were in, they couldn’t have been, as they disappeared in a puff of smoke. All she had to do was run down the corridors, aim her gun, breathe in, pull the trigger, breathe out, and repeat. As simple as that.

Waking up to the sight of a dead body was certainly unpleasant. Being dropped onto her side was also unpleasant, but not as bad, she would say. Eli Palmer felt like a breath of fresh air after being held underwater for a long time. His insistence on helping her was both nice and foolish. Tammy was right in her hesitation. Who knows what Jacob could have done to her, she could have been a potential threat. But, Eli wanted to help her nonetheless.

Eli felt like safety to her. His kind words and gentle touches. She knew he would be good for you.

Ariel knew something terrible was going to happen and Eli is going to pay the price for it, she could feel it.

Recusing the Militia hostages was easy at the Center and tougher at the Tunnel. There was no good way running into it. By the time she managed to reach the hostages, one had already been killed. Her heart ached for him.

She was captured again after taking down one of those awful wolf beacons. The sounds those things make was unsettling and maddening, which was probably the point of them. 

With the Grand View Hotel no longer under Jacob’s control, courtesy of Ariel and her missile launcher’s intervention, Ariel wondered where they would be taking her now.

Once again, time moved on in a blur of hunger and pain.

Waking up in the cage gave her no surprise. Hearing Pratt’s words only bothered her slightly as her cagemate tried to give her a much-needed drink of water. Seeing Joseph gave her no joy. Joseph’s presence only meant trouble for her.

The tattoo Joseph has of his wife undoubtedly did her no justice. Even with the small glimpse of her, Ariel could tell she had been a beautiful woman in life and just as wonderful. The tale he told her touched her heart. Her mind immediately went to Angel and how young and terrified Ariel had been herself. Her sweet Angel, she was thankful that she had chosen to wait before moving into Hope County officially. Angel was safe with her parents and far away from this wretched place. 

The pain Joseph must have felt to have lost his wife must have been terrible. To lose someone you loved so dearly. Any sympathy Ariel had for the man vanished in an instant the moment he began to talk about his daughter. Dread filled her stomach like lead, her thoughts flickering back to Angel with every word he said. If Ariel had the strength, she would have choked him like he choked his daughter.

Ariel remembers the story of Abraham and Isaac. To have so much devotion to the Lord, that you would even kill your own children was something Ariel couldn’t understand. But Abraham’s loyalty was rewarded with his son’s survival. Why didn’t the same happen with Joseph? That was when Ariel’s doubt of Joseph speaking with God was cemented. No God would have allowed such acts, not the God that the bible described at least. If Joseph actually was a prophet, it was not God’s whispers reaching his ears. No, it was that of a demon’s. Satan must have been quite silver-tongued if he was able to convince Eve to bite the Apple.

The second time through the Trial was easier. Run. Aim. Breath in. Pull. Breath out. Repeat.

The path had been longer this time. Something about her surroundings seemed familiar, but she couldn’t tell where from.

Waking up surrounded by dead bodies made her want to puke. She knew she had ended them, even if she doesn’t truly recognize their faces. Hearing Eli calling to her over the radio unsettled her. Something bad was going to happen before she’s done with the mountains.

Jess and her mission unsettled her. It helped that Ariel had brought Grace with her, as she made sure to ground them both with conversation, talking to Jess about this and that. Grace was a godsend.

It was after The Cook was dead after Jacob’s hunters came for her. She was standing a bit away from Grace and Jess, looking around to see what she could scavenge from the cult’s supply when she heard a familiar song begin to play. She didn’t even get the chance to scream before she was out.

Seven days later, Jacob gave her food for the first time. She didn’t even take the time to taste it. She knew that whatever it was, it wasn’t good. 

Jacob had Pratt trained well if he allowed him to shave him. Ariel wondered if he would have allowed her to do the same if she had been taken in Pratt’s place. Would he have seen her as a good little pet like Pratt, or would he have seen through the meek child act Ariel had perfected so well with her parents and others? She knew how to pretend to be unthreatening as possible, she had to to survive. She could see herself in Pratt’s place now, gently guiding the knife along his chin before finally pressing it deep into his skin and slitting the former soldier’s throat.

The story about Miller certainly answered her unwanted question of what the meat most likely was. Though, maybe Jacob was just messing with her. At the end of his tale, he pulled out that damn music box.

Run. 

Aim. 

In. 

Pull. 

Out. 

Repeat.

Ariel had no time to cheer or worry about Pratt’s defiance. They had to run quickly, and then, when the alarms began to blare and that damn song began to play, Pratt pushed her over the railing and onto the roof of the truck driving by below.

She made quick work of the driver when she woke up.

Eli called to her once again. Dangerous was approaching quick.

Running around the county took her mind off of it. Meeting Cheeseburger was a mix of terrifying and exciting. She felt like a little kid at a zoo as she brushed her hands through Cheeseburger’s fur.

Hurk was even better. Hurk Jr. that is. His father could eat shit for all she cared. His stories were entertaining, to say the least. Especially the ones about the Indonesian Islands that shared her nickname and his “Tat Bro” Jason Brody.

She was with Hurk when Jacob took her for the final time. They were running around in the forest when the familiar song filled her ears and turned her vision red. She remembers seeing a distant explosion, no doubt courtesy of Hurk trying to stop the Cultists from taking her.

Placing the music box just out of her reach in the cage was such a dick move, Jacob knew she couldn’t resist trying to destroy it.

This final trial was a long time coming, Ariel knew it was going to happen, but without any help, she was defenseless against it. Tammy had been right. They should have left her to die where they found her.

She ran through the trial just as she was taught.  
Run.

Aim.

Breathe in.

Pull. 

Breathe out.

Repeat.

It was at the very end that her mind hit the brake on her instincts. Rounding that corner and seeing Eli with his bow. Ariel actually hesitated in her movements. 

“No. no. Don’t shoot!” he cried. She froze and couldn’t breathe. She wanted to scream. It was only when the noise in her head was too much that she raised her gun once more to aim. She breathed in and pulled the trigger. 

Her breath came out with a scream as Eli Palmer fell to the ground.

Her vision of Jacob filled her with rage. 

Jacob Seed will pay for this.

Following the bloodied man, Ariel almost felt pity for him.

“My brother saw all this coming. I don’t know if he talks to God,” he said as he took a seat against one of the massive rocks that littered the mountains, “that doesn’t matter... He was right.” He let out a pained breath. “Humanity is once again in crisis. It doesn’t matter what we build or achieve. We will always find a way to break it down.” Ariel nodded in understanding at that. She’s seen too much not to agree. “Babylon. Rome… Empires rise, empires fall. America.” He waved her closer. “We’re no different. We think we’re indestructible.” He pulled her close. “World War II... War on “Terror”. We survived it, but it only brought us closer to the edge.” She could see the desperation in his eyes as he tried once last time to make her understand him. “And this is where we are. Right here on schedule, just waiting for someone to push us, and oh boy, have you pushed us. You did everything he said you would do. And you didn’t even know it.” He finally let her go, she took a step back. “You had no fucking clue.” Ariel tilted her head as his strength seemed to leave him. She could only frown. 

“I was four when my daddy first struck me,” Ariel whispered as she knelt before his body. “We were at the kitchen table and I had this glass of apple juice. I can’t remember what caused it, but I accidentally knocked it over and spilled the juice. It went everywhere, including my father’s shirt.” She glanced over at Jacob. “I knew what I did was bad, I even felt bad. Before I could even get the chance to apologize. Before I could get a single syllable through my lips. Wham.” Ariel clapped her hands together quickly. “He struck me right across the cheek and told me ‘Get this mess cleaned up, girl.’ That was my first indication of what kind of people my family was.” She considered Jacob for a second. “You know, I wondered which of you was worse, you or father. You look just like him, you know.” She reached out her hand and brushed her fingers against his hair. “Got his cold blue eyes and orange as the sun hair. So do I.” She shook her head. “You are a bastard of a man, Jacob. You’ve hurt me and others in so many ways, more ways than I thought possible. Just like my father and mother. I now know which of you worse.” Ariel stood up then. “He is. You at least have a sense of loyalty to your family. You may not truly believe in Joseph’s actions, but you still stand beside him nevertheless. Daddy, on the other hand, he’s loyal to only himself. Selfish bastard.” Ariel spitted on the ground and looked back at him. “I think you’re a better man than our father ever could have been.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all have enjoyed this chapter! If so, why not leave a comment or kudos, if you haven't done so already. You showing appreciation is what motivates me to write my stories. 
> 
> Until next time, take care!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoyed what I written so far and I look forward to writing more for Ariel and her story. Until next time, take care!


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